An American soldier was detained Tuesday after crossing from South into North Korea, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
The solider willingly walked across the so-called Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas, the official said.
The soldier has not been publicly identified. The official also said authorities were working on notifying family members and that process was “ongoing.”
The U.S. official said the soldier had “misbehaved” and was set to fly home to the United States. Instead, he took a civilian tour of the Demilitarized Zone and crossed into North Korea.
United Nations Command, which overseas the heavily-fortified area, said in a tweet that the U.S. national was on an “orientation tour” of the area and “crossed without authorization.”
It said the American was in North Korean custody and it was working to “resolve the incident.”
The U.S. State Department did not immediately reply to a comment request.
Previous Americans who have been detained in North Korea have not been treated well. College student Otto Warmbier, for example, was released in a vegetative state in 2017 after spending 17 months in captivity. He died a short while later. His parents said he had been tortured and suffered brain damage.
Three Americans detained in North Korea were freed in 2018, when Donald Trump was president.
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The border between South and North Korea is one of the most heavily fortified in the world. It runs for about 150 miles and divides the Korean Peninsula roughly in half along the “38th parallel” − the cease-fire line of demarcation between the two nations that has existed since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
Hundreds of North Koreans attempt to flee to the South each year, where they seek an escape from political oppression, better economic opportunities and famine. But cases of defections across the demilitarized zone are extremely rare − and even rarer for Americans and South Koreans going the other way.
North Korea is one of the most economically and politically isolated countries in the world. Its military has a variety of ballistic and cruise missiles that it has tested in recent years, and threatened the U.S. with. It has also tested nuclear bombs. In recent weeks, North Korea has accused the U.S. of repeatedly violating its airspace.
There are about 28,000 American troops stationed in South Korea.
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